In an age of increasingly ‘burnt-out’ pastors and ministers, declining ministry initiates and increased secularism, there is a need for the Church to reconnect with the foundations of ministry. While there have been various books written addressing these needs at different levels, David Fisher’s book, ‘The 21st century pastor’, gives a fresh and balanced perspective between the human and divine elements of pastoral ministry. These pages are filled with his own extensive personal experience and practice, but also driven and seen through a theological-biblical foundation drawn from a Christological framework and the life and words of the apostle Paul. Fisher aims to encourage and challenge those entering, and already, in pastoral ministry, addressing issues that are rarely dealt with in one’s preparation for pastoral ministry in theological education. This book is a most welcome and needed change for those of us, whether novice or veteran, in the world of ministry.
Fisher’s purpose is driven by an age of increasing secularism. With increasing secularism, Fisher recognises the declining place of the Church within modern society; as such, in the midst of this decline, Fisher articulates the need for pastoral ministry to step up to the plate or lose its impact upon this generation. One aspect Fisher highlights is the change within pastoral ministry from being a theologically-driven practice to an organisational-driven practice, essentially, a change from a divine foundation to a human business philosophy. He states that “the result is, more often than not, a failure of theological-biblical integration and, at the heart of it, a base for ministry that is not properly biblical or theological.” Recalling his own experience, he finds that our theological education system does little in equipping ministry initiates for sustainable, theological-biblical-based pastoral ministry within this changing world.
Fisher’s heart is evident throughout his writing drawn from his experience, as a pastor of nearly 40 years, from his theological education through to his various pastorates over the years. Within the world of theological education and ministry preparation (in any form), preparation for pastoral ministry may be dealt with theoretically, theologically and prayerfully, but very little space is given to adequately preparing initiates for the real-life practice ministry requires, as Fisher says recalling the day he entered his first pastorate, “I had a growing awareness that I wasn’t ready.” His book is divided into two parts, firstly, focusing on questions which each ministerial initiate should understand in their consideration to taking up the charge of a ministry; secondly, focusing on the various issues in the ministry journey. Fisher deals with these key issues, such as pastoral identity, ecclesiology, calling, etc. all within a theological-biblical perspective. For the most part, his theological-biblical perspective is drawn from the writing of the apostle Paul.
At first, these questions seem unnecessary, however, as many in ministry can testify, the question, “Who am I?”, “Why am I here?”, “What am I supposed to do?” are not uncommon. Fisher empathises with those in ministry and gently guides the reader to understand the significance of these questions; he encourages and challenges those engaging in ministry to find answers to these key questions. In the area of identity, Fisher turns to Christology and the Incarnation which form a theological, but also contemporary, foundation for pastoral ministry. In addressing practical ministry issues, Fisher draws upon his experience and reflecting upon the writing of the apostle, Paul, to provide a biblical framework for pastoral ministry.
The Christological and Incarnational reflection is a far cry from the human-organisational drive that we find in ministry today, as the title of John Piper’s book equally emphasises, “Brothers, we are not professionals.” It is not to say that books on human organisation and leadership, such as those of John Maxwell, are not welcome—but they are secondary to the theological-biblical foundations that should be driving ministry in today’s society. Where human organisation is the norm, the Church must once again return to its supernatural, divine call if we seek to be a contemporary voice in today’s society.
Fisher’s reflections upon Paul are largely drawn from the letters to the Corinthians. Given the nature of Corinthians, particular the second letter where Paul was being criticised, it speaks loudly today where the Church is increasingly being rejected for being irrelevant. Fisher encourages those engaging pastoral ministry to reassess their role, moving away from the contrasting organisational descriptions (administrator, counsellor, manager, etc.), to focus upon a biblical model returning to the heart of pastoral ministry illustrated by Paul’s various images: prisoners of Christ, jars of clay, farmers, builders, servants, stewards, ambassadors of Christ.
All in all, Fisher’s theological and biblical insights are both highly encouraging and challenging for godly, yet contextually relevant, ministry in the 21st century. It is interesting to note that the book was written in the mid-1990s with an American ministry context, which provides an aptly relevant message for the Australian ministry context today. Fisher is slightly repetitive in some points of his book, however, it does serve to reinforce particular key points of his book. Fisher’s book is by far from being exhaustive, however, it does encourage the building a strong theological and biblical foundation of pastoral ministry.
David Fisher has been a pastor for almost 4o years. He is currently the senior minister of Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims. A graduate of Bryan College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, a Ph.D. in New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His academic specialty is the Jewish background of early Christianity. He has served as an academic in New Testament at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
David Fisher, The 21st century pastor: a vision based on the ministry of Paul (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996)
